A known type of door handle for motor vehicles generally includes a smoothly curved outer portion that can be grasped by a user. The door handle also includes a plunger that extends inwardly, transverse to the graspable portion of the handle. The plunger connects the main handle body to a bell crank, and transfers motion of the handle along an arc (curvilinear) during opening of the door into a rotation of the bell crank, which in turn holds a cable to release a door latch.
During a side impact with a pole or another vehicle impacting the vehicle directly at the door handle, the door handle may fracture and the intruding object e.g. pole or another vehicle can crush the door structure) toward the passenger compartment, with the handle plunger remaining intact with the rear portion of the handle. The handle plunger can transfer compressive force to the door inner panel which is not desirable. One aspect of the present invention is a solution in the form of a deformable metal plunger at the rear end of the outside handle strap. The deformable metal plunger may be designed/engineered with a series of corrugations (deformation triggers) where it will bend/deform and absorb the incoming impact energy generated during a side impact/crash and it is therefore not transferred to the passenger compartment or the occupant in any form.
A deformable metal plunger with precisely engineered corrugations may be utilized. Metals are an example of a preferred material due to the ductility of metals and their ability to absorb large amounts of energy via deformation without fracturing. The present invention combines these material properties with an engineered crumple zone with corrugations that initiate bending/deformation at the desired level of impact energy. It will, however, be understood that the present invention is not limited to metal materials. Similarly, the present invention is also not limited to the specific corrugations described herein.